Lopetegui could have already bought “unimaginable” Rice alternative at West Ham

West Ham made round £142m price of gross sales within the 2023/24 season, which has since gone on to fund a number of huge spending home windows for the Hammers as they appear to remodel their id to a extra possession-based facet and set up themselves in European locations every season.

After all, their greatest loss was Declan Rice, who joined Arsenal for round £100m in the summertime 2023 window, after making 245 appearances for the membership, scoring 15 targets, offering 13 assists and totalling 20,580 minutes in his time on the membership.

The departure of Rice continues to be inflicting points for West Ham at current, with their midfield struggling to strike steadiness, firstly underneath Julen Lopetegui, however now additionally underneath new head coach, Graham Potter.

West Ham’s midfield points since Rice’s departure

Since Rice left the membership, West Ham have tried to interchange him with a number of midfield signings, bringing Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse in throughout the 2023/24 season, earlier than including Guido Rodriguez and Carlos Soler within the 2024/25 season.

None of those signings have changed the important thing attributes that Rice delivered to the squad, together with his uncooked athleticism, capability to cowl floor and contest in duels, in addition to carry the ball forwards when breaking from deep, getting West Ham up the pitch at velocity.

Alvarez has confirmed to stroll a disciplinary tightrope on too many events, Rodriguez has been extra notable for related and Ward-Prowse spent the primary half of 2024/25 out on mortgage.

However, maybe one of the best Rice alternative was proper there all alongside, being despatched out on mortgage throughout the 2023/24 season by West Ham, earlier than being bought final summer season, becoming a member of Southampton for a charge of round £18m.

West Ham could have bought a Rice alternative

Flynn Downes was bought after managing simply 35 appearances for the West Ham first-team, with the vast majority of his time being spent out on mortgage after becoming a member of West Ham from Ipswich in 2022.

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Rice leaving in 2023 might have been one of the best time to fast-track Downes’s minutes, giving him a extra vital function within the group.

Most of the traits talked about earlier which had been misplaced with Rice, together with a capability to progress play, athleticism to defend in transition and shield the defence, in addition to mobility and an engine to get across the pitch and contribute to all phases, might have been addressed with Downes.

Since transferring completely, he has made 20 appearances for Southampton this season, scoring as soon as, contributing to 2 clear sheets and totalling 1,536 minutes.

In his time at Swansea, Russell Martin (who signed Downes from West Ham for Southampton) described the English midfielder as “unimaginable“, praising his work-rate, athleticism, artistic capability and his capability to allow others to carry out their roles.

This is not to say he was the only reply to changing Rice, however given the circumstances, it will have been a good suggestion to implement Downes alongside a brand new signing, in an effort to present the group with steadiness, not utterly stripping the group of its central mobility.

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